


January

by lilboyskylark



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 13:42:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19230271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilboyskylark/pseuds/lilboyskylark
Summary: It was the beginning of January when things began to change. Nockfell was always cold— it was a signature climate trait; the way the wind could pierce through any clothing you wore, the low temperature so intense your hair would freeze and stick together, and you'd practically have to set your own head on fire to warm it up. Then it'd be wet again and as soon as you stepped outside the wind would hit, and suddenly you're in the hospital for a month with pneumonia.That's what happened with Ash.





	January

_It was the beginning of January when things began to change. Nockfell was always cold— it was a signature climate trait; the way the wind could pierce through any clothing you wore, the low temperature so intense your hair would freeze and stick together, and you'd practically have to set your own head on fire to warm it up. Then it'd be wet again and as soon as you stepped outside the wind would hit, and suddenly you're in the hospital for a month with pneumonia._

_That's what happened with Ash. The doctors said it would be a long time before she got out, considering how long she had gone untreated. Which is accurate— Ash, despite her better judgement, would always let things reach their worst before receiving help. In a way, it's our fault, filling her head with conspiracies, so no wonder we had to watch her illness unfold for weeks before one night Lisa got a call from Mister Campbell explaining the situation. It wasn't long before the rest of us had heard, and the next day we slept while she was in the ICU. It was probably a full week before we went back to school, and things just got worse from there._

_From the first day back from winter break Todd had been acting strange, but while Ash was sick we didn't notice it that much. It wasn't until after the Ash situation had become stable that we noticed his uneasiness in public. He was shifting more and more in his seat, crossing and uncrossing his legs, clicking his pen and messing with his sleeves. I had asked Larry about it when I noticed._

_"Dude, Todd's fine. He's a bit— well, he's a lot socially awkward. He's probably just nervous about being back in school after the on and off breaks."_   
_It seemed reasonable at the time. I'd known Todd wasn't the best socially since I met him; he'd told me before he was aware of it but now he seemed too aware of it, like fidgeting around would make him appear more laid back though he looked as if he had Tourette's. We started seeing him less at lunch and less at the apartments, and every time I ran into him at school he was glancing over his shoulder or staring off, tapping his foot and biting on his nails and shirt collar. I hadn't gotten the chance to really talk to him about it before Larry started having his own problems as well, and I didn't want to tackle such an issue without Larry to support me._

_Getting sick was a primary Johnson trait. Lisa would get sick almost all the time, and whatever Lisa got Larry got. They could probably get pink eye from a handshake. Larry took a lot of missed days to care for Lisa and help do her work in the apartments, and he'd show up on days he got sick and either skip or spend the day at the nurse, being babied by the blind old lady who would give him crackers and take out the trash full of his vomit._

_And then there's me, the freak of the freaks: Sal Fisher. I'm a disgusting human being overall: my face (and most of my body for that matter) was horrible disfigured from a life-threatening incident years ago, leading me to wear that stupid half-homemade prosthetic to hide the shame. For something that's supposed to make me look normal it draws a lot of attention, but my dad says it's not the mask. Dad says it's my personality that shows through my mask, but even Gizmo knows that claim was bullshit at the time. It was just another drunken spew of slurred words that was supposed to make him seem like a better father than he was._

_It wasn't that I didn't love my dad, nor was it that I thought he didn't love me; I loved him to pieces, he was the only family I had. That didn't excuse his half-assed efforts, though. I don't think anything really will, in my eyes._

**Author's Note:**

> hi all! this is my first fanfic i've posted, and it;s kind of experimental. my writing may not be great, but i hope you don't mind. i will update whenever i can, if i keep the motivation to continue this story that is. <3


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